Xolo Pass

Xolo by Xolo Review and Rating Week 7

Individual player ratings for Tijuana Xolos

Photo: Club Tijuana

by Said Rodriguez

August 26 2013

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TIJUANA - A goal in the finals minutes of the games left the Tijuana Xolos with the desire of walking away with a victory over one of the title contenders in Santos. Tiredness and injury were determining factors that were seen, but now we’ll see the tactical aspect.

The formation:

Jorge Almiron came out with his usual 4-1-2-3 formation that is often confused with a 4-3-3, but we have to make light of the defensive duties of Cristian Pellerano who plays slightly behind the other two midfielders.

One of the key points of the match was the return of Dario Benedetto. Almiron sent Raul Enriquez out wide to the right at times making a partnership of two central strikers with Benedetto,

Cirilo Saucedo: The goalkeeper had a good game, but unfortunately did not get a strong enough touch on the ball that lead to the Escoboza tying goal. He did have a fantastic one-on-one save against Carlos Darwin Quinter in the first half. (8/10)

Richard Ruiz: He continues to be an important piece in the attacking part of the field. But if he continues to used as a defender he will continue to suffer. In this game he suffered the whole night against Escoboza, but fatigue also played a part. (7/10)

Javier Gandolfi: Just like we criticized the small details in the defensive unit in past games, now we can say Gandolfi and Aguilar were excellent. Gandolfi had some great tackles and supported both Castillo and Ruiz in wide positions. (10/10)

Pablo Aguilar: A great game by Aguilar maintaining the dangerous duo of Oribe Peralta and Carlos Darwin Quintero well contained. (9/10)

Edgar Castillo: He is becoming one of the best left backs in the league with great ability to incorporate himself to the attack. It must be said that it was a play in which Castillo went up to attack that provided the avenue for the tying goal. (8/10)

Cristian Pellerano: The Argentine keeps on putting in solid performances. Very few times does he mess up during a game. (8/10)

Fernando Arce: It was not one of his best performances, but the fans should feel comfortable with the work rate that he put in running up and down the entire field. He had some missed played passes that could have lead to dangerous plays on the counter attack.

Javier Guemez: Jorge Almiron considers him the future central midfielder of the Mexican National Team, and if he continues to play the way he does it could all be true. He has been the surprise of the season. (8/10)

Raul Enriquez: Slowly Enriquez is making Almiron a believer in him. He performed his job functions well which were to support Benedetto. He had a nice header that hit the post in the first half. (8/10)

Fidel Martinez: He was the match’s goal scorer. He always looked to take defenders on, succeeding some of the times; without a doubt a factor in the game. (9/10)

Dario Benedetto: 45 minutes were enough to produce more offence for the Xolos. He gifted us some lovely plays in the attack and sent in a beautiful cross to Enriquez which nearly found its way into the net. He must fully recover from the injury as soon as possible. (8/10)

The substitutes:

Paul Arriola: It is natural that people want to see him in the starting lineup, but he is being taken the correct path. He always seems to be able to revolutionize the game. He did have to drop back and help Ruiz defensively a lot due to the fatigue the right back had. (9/10)

Diego Olsina: He was the best substitute of the game. We were all suspicious of the substitution for Pellerano, but Olsina took a hold of the ball and calmed the game down and allowed his teammates better projections up the field. (9/10)

Alfredo Gonzalez-Tahuilan: Bad luck? Maybe, but he was brought in to help protect the one goal lead and two minutes later Santos tied. (6/10)